Two-point-connecter light plug



July 15, 1924. 1,501,466

: c. PORTER TWO-POINT CONNECTER,LIGHT PLUG Filed June 17, 1922 2 shuns-Sheet 1 I I l v l I V i4" 16 11 f7 5 r {I 16* :1 3f I 1 r 22 24 as 22 553 I J 86 V; Z6 ZJ Z7 5 4 if i2 Q12 'acters of reference indicate like Patented July 15, 1924.

- narr a s rare sea-rear CLAUD roa'rnn, or DE sME'r',,sonT1r renown.

, isolate FFEQEEQ rwo-roinr-oonnnornaL GH PLUG.

Application filed. June 17,i19 22. Serial No. 569,131.

To all whom-it may concern.

Be it known that. I, GLAUD PORTER, a citizen of the United States of America, re siding at De Smet, in the county of Kingsbury and State ofSouth Dakota, have in-' vented certain new and useful Improvements 1n Two-Point-Connecter Light Plugs; and

More particularly the invention relates to a'groundi'ng plug for such systems.

It is a well known fact that in many in:

stances headlights of an automobile are connected up in series to the source. of electricity, a return wire being used so that the entire is a wire system and without grounds. Also, it is a well known fact thatfin such a system the burning out of one lamp, prevents current passing through the other.

One important object ofthe present invention isto provide an improved means, in such'a lighting system, whereby the burningout of one lamp will not prevent the use'of the other.

A's'eoond important "object of the invention is to provide an improved adaptor, in-

cluding a groundingplug of noyel construc tion, for utilization in such a system in such mannerthat either of the lamps may be grounded at will.

'A third importantobject of the invention is to provide a novel formofgrounding plug carrying a small grounding switch housed within the outer dimensional limits of the plug, which switch maybe moved to ground-'oneofthe conductors at will.

YVith the above and other objectsin View as will be hereinafterapparent, the invention consists 1n general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and specifically claimed. a In the accompanying drawings like charparts in the several views,and;

F'gurel isa longitudinal section through an adaptor of improved construction showi. ing the same in posit on 1Il a supportlngtube.

t Figure 2.

Figure'Q'is a side eleva plug removed from the adaptor.

Figure 3is a section on the" line 3 3 of Figure 4 is a section. on the. line 4l4 of Figure '3.

[Figure 5 is a diagrammatical view show- 3 ing one form of circuit connections employ-,

ing grounding switches.

Figure 6 illustrates a second form of such connection.

In the embodiment of the inventionhere in disclosed there isprovided a plug whi h has a cylindrical body 10 formed; of hard rubber, porcelain, or other similar insulat ingsubst ance. Through this body extends a pair oflongitudinal passages, 01' openings 11 wherein are fitted conductor members, Eachof' these members has a tubular end 12 for the reception of thecircuit wires.

Atits other end each conductor terminates in a contact pole, 0r member 13 engageable by the contacts of a twofpole lamp base when the latter is inserted; in ashell; 14'

ceives the plug, a ground contact and plug securing pin 15 sliding transversely of the P g b w n p ni gs 11 for is purpose. This pin'extends beyond theplug and fits thebayonet slots l6jof the sl1ellj,"the other end of the shell being provided with similar bayonet slots for engaging pins 'on the. lamp base At one end; of the opening .18 through which the pin. slides is a circu? 'lar recess 19 and on the end of the pin which passes through this recess/is a washer,

or collar 20 between which and thelcottom of the recess 19 is a coil com%ressor spring,

21 .surrounding said pin 15. y this means the pin is constantlynrged= longitudinally. Opposite the recess 19 there is provided: a second recess 22-having diverging sides 23. The pin 15 passes through the smaller end of this recessand on this end pin is a washer 24 which forms a bearing washer for a.

switch arm'25 fixed on said pin. On the. free end of this switch arm is a ball-'26 which is adapted to seat either i in a. cupshaped depression 27 or in an opening 28 which leads from the wide end of the retion of the adaptormounted thereon. This shell-detachablyfrecess 22 into one of the openings 1 1; so: that a portion of the conductor." is exposed- I through this opening." It 'is 'obvi'ous that when seated in thisT'openi-ng, as will be' shown'in Figure. 4, the ball 26 contacts with said conductor and consequently electrical connection is established between the pin 15 and'said conduct-or, the arm 25 and ball 26 being of conductive material. The shell 14 is supported in the lamp housing, or"

casing, by means of a spring bolt 29 which passes througha suitable part of the lamp housing, not shown, and through a bracket 30 fixed on the shell 14. An insulating shell 31 is also provided on the plug and serves as, a lead-in tube for the wires conducting the electricity, to the contact members 12, It will now be seen that by shifting the arm 25 to one position or the other the plugv maybe used either as an ordinary contact plug or one of the wires may be grounded. Consequently, when these plugs are used for the headlights, or other series connected lights'any light may be grounded at will. For instance, in such a construction as shown in Figure 5 there is provided a source of electricity 32-fro1n which leads a wire 33 to a lamp 34. Fromthe lamp 34 the wire 35 leads to a second lamp 36 from whence a wire37 leads back to the source 32. This is the ordinary series connected over-wire lighting system, but in such a system, if

one of the lamps burnsout, as for instance, the lamp 36, the plug which is here indicated in general as at P, can be set to ground the wire 37 while the plug for the lamp 34 canbe set to ground the wire 35, this plug'being indicated at P. Under these circumstances, current will flow from the source 32 through thewire 33, lamp 34, plug P to the ground. From theground current will flow through the plug P, and wire 37 back to the source-32. In Figure 6 one side of the generator, orsource 32isgrounded through a 'wire 38 and the lamps are connected to the other side of-the source in multiple through wires 39 and 40 each lamp being normally grounded to the machine as indicated at 41 through'wires 42. In the event of either. of the wires 42 becoming broken as frequently happens, the plug P, on P may be properly adjusted to meet the condition by establishing aground close 1 to thelamp.

fThere has thus been provided a simple andeflicient device of the kind described and for the purpose specified. 1

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, therefore, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it'is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed, 7

-Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new, 1s:-

1. A grounding plug comprising an insulating'bQdy, a pair ofspaced conductors extending longitudinally through said body, a ground contact pin extending transversely of the body in spaced relation to the conductors, and conductor means carried by the pin and movable into and out of engagement with one of said conductors.

2. A grounding plug comprising an insulating body, a pair of spaced conductors extending through the body, said body having a recess in one side opening at one end to one of said conductors to expose a portion of the same, a ground contact pin, at the other end of said recess, and a conductor member in said recess and having one end secured to the contact pin and the other end movable into and out of engagement with the exposed conductor portion.

3. A grounding plug comprising an in sulating body'having a lateral recess and provided with a pair of longitudinal passages, said recess being provided atone end with a cup shaped depression and an opening-leading into one of the longitudinal openings, a grounding pin at the end of the recess opposite the depression, an arm housed in said recess and having one end fixed to said pin, a ball on the other end of said arm movable for selective positioning in the depression or recess 0 ening," and a pair of conductors lea 111 througlrthe pair of openings, one of said conductors being engageable by said ball.

4. A grounding plug comprising an in-. sulating body having a lateral recess and provided with a pair of longitudinal passages, said; recess being provided atone end with a cup shaped depression and an opening leading into one of the longitudinal openings, a grounding pin at the end of the recess opposite the depression, an arm housed 1n saidrecess and having one end fixed to said pin,"a ballon the other end of said arm movablefor selective positioning in the depression or recess opening, a pair of conductors leadingthrough the pair of openings, one of said conductors being engageable by said ball, and spring means urging sai'd'ball inward. 5. grounding plug comprising an. in sulating body having a lateral recess and provided with a pair of longitudinal passages, said recess beingprovided at one end with a cup shaped depression and an and'the latter having a second recess surrounding the pin and opposite the firstre? cess, a Washer on said pin at the outer end of the second recess, and a compression spring surrounding the pin between the Washer and the bottom of the second recess.

6. In combination, a plug having a cylindrical insulating body provided With a pair of longitudinally extending openings, conductors located in said openings and each having one end adapted to receive a conductor Wire and its other end forming a contact pole to engage a contact on a lamp base, said body having a recess in one side having tapering sides and pro vided at its larger end with a cup shaped depression at one side and an opening communicating With one of the pair of longitudinal openings to expose one of the conductors, said body having a second recess opposite the smaller end of the first recess and communicating therewith through an opening extending between the conductors, a ground contact and plug securing pin slidable in the opening between said recesses and having its ends projecting from the body to engage the bayonet slots of a socket, a Washer on the pin in the second recess, a spring surrounding the pin between said Washer and the recess bottom, a conductor arm on the opposite end of the pin and extending longitudinally of the first recess, a ball on the free end of said arm adapted for selective seatingin the depression and against the exposed conductor, and a lamp base receiving sleeve carried on the end of the body adjacent the contact pole ends of the conductors.

CLAUD PORTER. 

